Werewolves And Animaguses
by coolhacker1025
Summary: Sequel to a Missed Traffic Light and The Bonds of Friendship: Book 2. This is the third book in the series, happening roughly around the summer after Harry's Second Year up to around the end of his third. As always, H/Hr/G. What will the trio get up to this year? And what do the Weasleys have planned?
1. Homes

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Summery so far:

When Harry goes to Hogwarts for his first year, there is a disturbance on the Platform and Mrs Weasley in temporarily detained, allowing Ginny to get on the train. At Hogwarts, her Brothers set up a diversion so that she can get sorted.

Over the first year at Hogwarts, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry develop a bond closer than just friends. Ginny plays as a reserve player, and fills in for Harry in the third match. The second year, Ginny gets a mysterious diary that causes her not to remember things she has been doing. Quickly, however, the diary is discovered and Ginny is set free from the Dark Lord's curse.

During class one day, Professor Lockhart attacks Harry with the mind-reading curse, and is arrested. It is found out that Lockhart used the Amnesia curse on hundreds of witches, wizards, and other magical beings. During the trial, Dumbledore is injured.

One day, Ginny sees her Brothers with the Marauder's Map, and they catch Peter, which causes Sirius to be set free. Ginny helps a second time to win the Quidditch Cup, filling in for a sick Chaser. The year is over, and the students go home.

_When they got to the Platform, there was a man whom Harry knew that he knew. The man said, "Harry?" and came over to him._

"_Sirius?"_

"_Yep, pup. You know you look so much like your dad at that age. Except the eyes." remarked Sirius Black._

"_Yeah, I've got my mum's eyes," responded Harry as he gave Black a hug. Harry then turned to the girls. The Trio gave each other hugs and kisses goodbye, with the promise that, as soon as things were ready, the girls would be invited over._

"Why did you call me pup?" asked Harry, who at twelve almost thirteen had just finished his second year at Hogwarts.

"Haven't you been reading the paper?" asked Sirius Black, a former prisoner at Azkaban and Harry's godfather. Sirius had been wrongly accused of killing Peter Pettigrew and 12 Muggles, and of being the Secret-Keeper for the Potters. "I'm an Animagus," he said. "A dog Animagus, in fact. In a way, you could say that I'm your _dogfather."_ he said with a chuckle.

Harry and Sirius went out to the parking lot, where Sirius showed Harry to a brand new 1993 BMW. "I'll be driving this home," said Sirius. "So put your stuff in the back."

When Sirius opened the boot, Harry was amazed. He really shouldn't have been, seeing as he had been in the Wizarding World for two years, but the boot was bigger on the inside.

"It's like the TARDIS in there," said Harry.

"What?" came Sirius's reply.

Harry muttered that it was a Muggle thing and got in the front passenger seat. The interior of the car had also been modified to make it slightly smaller on the outside. Sirius explained that there were tons of charms on the car, including a selective Notice-Me-Not charm (to avoid detection by 'Muggle Aurors' as Sirius called them), a charm that would let the car get through impossible gaps and flight (with built in Invisibility Booster), among others. Sirius didn't seem to be using any of the special features, as they seemed to be following a dark blue Mercedes.

Within an hour, Sirius pulled into a driveway in a nice neighbourhood outside of London. As Harry got out, he saw who was getting out of the Mercedes at the house next door.

"I assume you approve of our neighbours?" asked Sirius with a chuckle.

Hermione Granger, one of the smartest 12 year-olds on the planet turned her head at the sound of Sirius's voice. She then looked to the passenger side of the vehicle and saw Harry Potter, one of her best friends.

\\/ **Hermione's POV**

Mr and Mrs Granger were perfectly normal dentists. Most Muggles were completely terrified of them, and it didn't help that Mr Dan Granger looked as though he had done a couple of seasons of rugby in college.

Hermione pulled her trunk off the train, and crossed to the Muggle section of the train station. After giving Harry and Ginny a hug and kiss goodbye, she went with her parents to their car—a rather new (and very expensive) Mercedes 500E. She put her trunk in the boot and got in the back seat as her parents interrogated her about her school year. She told her parents some of the highlights, when she happened to notice something.

"I think there's a car following us, dad," she said.

"I think that's our new neighbours," said Dan. "He seemed like such a nice man. I haven't met his nephew yet. The nephew goes to some school in Scotland."

"Which one?"

"I'll leave the surprise for when we get home," answered her father. He seemed to almost be grinning, as if he knew _exactly _who the new neighbour and his nephew were. Less than an hour later, they were pulling into their driveway.

"I assume you approve of our neighbours?" asked a man. Hermione couldn't tell who the man was talking to, but she turned to look at the man. It was Harry's godfather! She looked at the passenger side of the vehicle more carefully and saw Harry Potter, one of her best friends.

**Harry Point of View**

"You sneaking Slytherin!" called Harry to his godfather.

"Hey, don't get nasty" answered Sirius. "I'm a Marauder. We hate Slytherins on general principle, especially the one who is rumoured to be your Potions Professor."

"Snape?"

"Yep" he said, popping the p. "Your father hated Snape, mostly because Snape loved your mother."

"_Snape _loved my mum?" asked Harry. He then said, "I think that, if you are a Marauder, then the Weasley twins have something that belongs to you. Ginny says that they found the Traitor using some type of map."

"Hey, Dan!" shouted Sirius. "Why don't you come take a look at my house? Just close the...uh...boot and come over for tea! Bring your wife and daughter over, too."

But Dan wanted to get Hermione's things into the house, so a half-hour later, Sirius was showing his neighbours his modest house with two master bedrooms ("One's for me, and one's for when my pup is older" he said), five bedrooms ("for guests"), three-and-a-half bath ("so there aren't any lines"), kitchen, living room, dining room and elf closet.

When Sirius sold his house at Number 12, Grimmould Place to his cousin (for 1 million galleons), he took his house-elf, and was planning to find some way to liberate his cousin's house-elf, a strange elf named Dobby.

When Hermione heard that Sirius, and by extension Harry, owned an elf, she started to get angry, until Sirius calmed her down, telling her that elves actually _like_ working for humans.

"As long as they are treated right, of course," he said. He then said in a stage whisper to Harry, "As soon as I saw that look, I knew that she would start going on about that. Your mum had the same look."

\\/ **Back to normal (i.e. Ginny) Point-of-view**

Life at the Burrow was exciting. As soon as mum saw the state of Ron's wand, she immediately dragged him into the fireplace so that they could go to Ollivander's and buy him a wand. He had been using one of Charlie's wands, but it had been damaged in what Ron referred to as a "Minor Traffic Incident." The truth of the matter was that Ron had flown the Weasley's car to Hogwarts and had crashed in the one tree to hit back—the Whomping Willow.

It took a number of tries, but finally they found the right fit for him—36 cm Willow with a core of unicorn hair. It cost seven galleons, which Molly paid with the money that they saved by not buying Ginny's books themselves.

The next Monday when dad got home from work, he gathered us all around the dinner table. He showed an advance copy of the next day's _Daily Prophet._ "I've won!" he said. "We've won!"

"What did we win, dear?" asked mum.

"The _Prophet _Grand Prize! We just won seven-hundred Galleons!"

We all cheered. _We finally have some money,_ I thought. _Maybe we can go see Bill._

"I think that we should all go to Egypt to see Bill," said Dad. "And your boyfriend Mr Potter doesn't need to buy your books this year!" he finished triumphantly.

The next day, reporters from the _Prophet _came to our house, and interviewed us. They seemed to be especially interested in me, the youngest person at Hogwarts in the last couple centuries, and the youngest player to ever compete in Quidditch at the school level.

After the reporters and photographers left, I received a letter from my two best friends.

_Dear Ginny,_

_We hope that you are well. Harry's godfather bought the house right next to mine, and he did a couple of charms to make it bigger on the inside. But anyway, Harry and I will be spending a lot of time together, as Sirius puts it, working. I wonder what the Marauder has up his sleeve. He wants to meet the twins sometime this summer._

_Congratulations on the win! We just read the paper with the announcement. Will there be a follow-up story soon? We both hope that you can come over for a while this summer._

_Love,_

_Harry and Hermione (HJ__2__)_

I immediately penned a letter back.

_Hey guys,_

_Thank you for the letter. Dad says that we are going on vacation to Egypt to visit my brother Bill sometime in late-July or early-August, and we should be home in time to catch the _Express _on 1 September. I will ask mum if I can come over. Is Sirius's house on the Network? If so, send me the name._

_The reporters just left from interviewing us about the Prize and my skills. They seemed to want to know more about The-Youngest-At-Hogwarts or whatever they are calling me._

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Ginny_

A/N:

I have also taken down the epilogue to _A Missed Traffic Light, _as it is no longer is relevant/has events/timings that are being moved up significantly.

I completely forgot to Liberate Dobby from the Malfoy's in the last book. Don't worry, it's coming soon (as soon as I a)figure out what to do and b)write it


	2. Holidays

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 2

I went down to ask mum about going to Mr Black's house. She said that it was great that I had friends and that she'd get on the Floo to make arrangements.

"I don't know his address yet, Mum," I told her. "I just sent a letter to Harry and Hermione responding to their letter, and I asked in the letter."

Just then, the Floo flared up. "Did I get the right place?" asked a voice. He laughed. His laugh had an almost barking sound to it.

"Who are you?" asked Mum. _How thick can you get and not be my brother?_

"I'm Sirius Black," responded the head in the fireplace. "I was just responding to Miss Weasley's letter. My address is 'Padfoots Cabin, London'. Mrs Weasley?" he asked with a pleading tone.

"OK, she can go," answered Mum. "Make sure that she doesn't get into any trouble. Remember, we're only a Floo call away."

Mum told me to get my things together, so I did and Flooed to Padfoot's Cabin, where Harry and Hermione were waiting for me. "Hey, guys" I said.

"Want to have some fun this summer?" asked the man I now knew to be Sirius Black.

\\/

Sirius's idea of fun was training us to be illegal Animaguses. First, we had to brew an extremely difficult potion under his supervision. Then, we had to learn how to meditate so that we could get in touch with our inner animal.

"Normally, this would be the hard part," said Sirius. "And for us, meaning James, the Traitor, and I, it was."

"It won't be as hard for us?" asked Hermione.

"No," said Sirius simply before continuing. "I didn't have someone who was _already _an Animagus teaching me. You three have that advantage."

By the middle of July, the potion was complete. I had been going home every day so that Mum wouldn't worry, but now, I was to be here at Sirius's for an entire week before I had to go home so that we could leave for Egypt.

While I was at home, though, I noticed something strange: Ron was hanging around the Twins a lot more than usual. I asked Harry and Hermione about it, but they just shrugged it off. The Twins were always setting off explosions in their room, so now I wondered if Ron was helping them do whatever they were doing.

During the week-long sleepover at Harry's, we would take the Animagus Potion, which would send us into some sort of trance where we would find out what animal we were capable of transforming into. Sirius had a Pensieve ready so that we could analyse each others animal.

Harry went first. He drank the flask and then passed out. According to the medical charms Sirius placed, Harry was all right. After fifteen minutes, he emerged.

"I'm some sort of big cat," he said. He extracted the memory, and we jumped into the Pensieve, where we found that Harry was a very large Panther.

Hermione went next. When she woke up, we found that she was a Snow Leopard.

I went last. I took the potion and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in a desert. I looked around and saw a large cat coming towards me. I could immediately tell what animal it was. I was a lioness. The lioness came over to me and touched me. She then sniffed me as if to see what I was. I felt myself fall asleep again, and when I woke up, I was in the real world.

"I'm a Lion," I said. At this, Sirius just hit his head with his hand.

"Merlin's Beard!" he exclaimed. "I'm the only dog in a house full of cats."

The day before I left to go home, we went over to Hermione's house, right next door. Although they looked to be about the same size on the outside, Hermione's house was a lot smaller. Hermione's mum was acting strange, though. Every so often, she would be sick in the toilet. She also seemed to have cravings for chocolate all day. Harry and Sirius both came over to dinner, and any child's worst nightmare came true at the table that night.

No one really wants to think about their parents having relations, but even I knew that was the only thing that corresponded with Emma's news, which she delivered right before pudding.

"I'm pregnant," said Emma. "I go for a check-up in two days."

This was met with a lot of excited screaming from all of us. Everyone then went over to hug Mrs Granger, in what Hermione called a 'Group Hug.' It was after we got done with pudding that Mrs Granger really threw me.

"Ginny, Harry," Mrs Granger said. "We'd like you to be the godparents of the child."

Suddenly, there was a large boom as Harry hit the floor.

The next morning, I went back to the Burrow. Everyone was all rushing around, trying to get ready for the trip to see Bill. "Do you have clean pants?" said Mum.

"Yes, Mrs Granger washed them yesterday, mum," I answered.

"You were at the Grangers?"

"Mr Black lives right next to them," I replied. "I think he did it by design, as Harry and Hermione are now never more than 100 metres apart when they are at home."

"Do you have clean blouses and skirts and socks?"

"Yes, mum," I said before I went up to my room. My room was decorated a lot better than Ron's. Whereas his was decked out in a violent orange that always made me want to be sick, mine was a cool blue, very similar to the blue of Ravenclaw. I had a couple posters on my wall, just the same as Ron, except mine were of a team that actually had won quite a number of games in the last century. My posters were of the Holyhead Harpies, the only all-women team in the British Professional League. I made sure that my bag was packed with everything I needed for Egypt, and I went back downstairs.

"Hurry up!" Mum was shouting. "The Portkey leaves in ten minutes!"

\\/

The Portkey left the Burrow at exactly twenty minutes past noon, London time, and we landed at Cairo International Airport on the Wizarding side at 14:30 Egyptian time. We went through Magical Customs and then walked to the main concourse. The Portkey station that we got was for lower income citizens. The more important visitors to Egypt would Portkey directly to the Ministry building.

Dad always insisted on using the airport Portkeys. Since he was the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, he figured that we needed to know at least something about the Muggles. Percy had impressed him with a O on his Muggle Studies OWL (even though Percy never took the course).

We were walking down the corridor when I heard, "Mum! Dad!" I quickly turned around to see my oldest brother standing there.

"I heard what you did, you little rascal," said Bill.

"What, me?" I asked in an innocent voice.

"You got into Hogwarts a year early, you devious child," said Bill in return. I hit him, and he said, "Ah" and pretended he had been hit with a curse. He then started to laugh, which caused the rest of us to laugh, especially the Twins. While their humour didn't always appeal to me, they found other people's humour to be a lot funnier than it sometimes was.

After a week of holidaying, I decided to write Harry and Hermione a letter.

_Hey, Guys, _I wrote

_Happy birthday, Harry! How are you lot doing? It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's been taking us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe some of the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let me come in the last one. According to Percy, it was full of mutant skeletons of Muggles who had broken in and grown extra heads and stuff._

_Ron bought a Pocket Sneakascope from one of the street vendors here. Bill says that it's rubbish for the tourists, as it kept lighting up and spinning during supper. What he didn't realise was that the Twins, with the possible help of Ron, put beetles in Bill's soup._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

The next morning, she took the letter to the Wizarding Post Office, as she wasn't allowed to use Errol (even if the bird was able to make the journey—the bird was near 30!). The letter would go through the Floo with the rest of the mail to England, and then the Ministerial Post would finish the delivery.

The next day, I could feel a hint of jealousy in Hermione's thoughts. I closed off my connection as best I could.

"Hey, Bill," I called.

"What do want?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"Do you know of any good books about the Pyramids and Ancient Egypt?" I asked. "I want to get a gift for my best friend."

"Which one?" he asked jovially. "From what I've heard, you have a boyfriend _and _a girlfriend all before 12."

He looked pensive for a minute and then said, "You have a soul bond, don't you. I know that you have some type of bond with Mr Potter."

"Not just with Harry," I replied. "With both Hermione and Harry. And could you just recommend a good book or ten?"

"How much are you willing to spend?" asked my brother, knowing that teasing me about Harry would not be a good thing.

"Sirius gave me an allowance when I was at his place this summer. 10 Galleons a week. You do the calculation."

Soon, I had lots of books to give to Hermione when I got back.

After a great couple of weeks, it all came to a close on the 28th of August, when we said goodbye to Bill and took our Portkey home.

After we got home, within ten minutes, our Hogwarts owls arrived.

"Doesn't miss a trick, Dumbledore," commented Dad. "He must of known we were out of the country, so he didn't bother to send the owls."

When Percy opened his letter, out fell a shiny new badge that was labelled **Head Boy.** I groaned inside my head as Mum congratulated Percy. _Percy is going to be so full of himself this year,_ I thought before I went to bed that night.

On the 31st, we Flooed to Diagon Alley with all of our trunks. We were going to rent a room at the Leakey Cauldron and then get all of our school things. The next day, we took the Floo to Platform 9 ¾ and a new year began.

A/N:

I have also taken down the epilogue to _A Missed Traffic Light, _as it is no longer is relevant/has events/timings that are being moved up significantly.

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but this series is so far out of my comfort zone anyway that I thought I'd give it a try. Usually, I prefer Harry/Hermione or Harry/any girl other than Ginny and Hermione/Any one other than Ron or Draco.

I use pants in this chapter to mean what the Americans would call 'underpants' or 'underwear' If this is not a modern use of the word 'pants' please review and suggest an alternate word


	3. Boggarts

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 3

_On 1 September, we took the Floo to Platform 9 ¾ and a new year began._

"Ginny!" called two voices from the train. I knew exactly who was yelling for me—Mr Potter and the future Mrs Potter, er, Harry and Hermione. I knew some information from Sirius that he didn't want to spring on Harry yet—Harry was the Heir Black unless by some miracle Sirius ("Call me Padfoot") managed to reproduce. Due to his long incarceration in Azkaban, the chances of that were quite slim, though.

"Hey, guys," I called back to them. I brought my trunk on the train and joined them in their compartment. "How was your August?"

"It was good," said Hermione.

"We got a lot of reading done," answered Harry. "And we also managed to free one of the Malfoy elves"

"How did you do that?" I asked.

**Harry Point of View**

Sirius and Harry reviewed the Pensieve information from the Weasley Diagon Alley trip from the previous year. They got as many memories as they could so that the evidence could be catastrophically against Mr Malfoy, whom they suspected of giving Ginny the diary. They watched the fight, and then, like a Muggle magician, Malfoy slipped the diary into one of the cauldrons. Sirius decided to call Malfoy to his house to interrogate him about this.

"Mr Malfoy," Sirius said when Malfoy came to the house. "I am thinking about ending your marriage to my cousin, Narcissa Black, on the grounds that her husband has attacked someone under the protection of myself."

"I never attacked anyone," replied Malfoy.

"Do you not recall giving a cursed diary to one Ginevra Weasley last August? She is under the Protection of House Potter, and therefore, under my personal Protection."

"What do you want?"

"First, I'd really like you dead, as you are a Death Eater," said Sirius. "But seeing as that's illegal (unless you have money), I'll settle for the dissolution of your marriage to one Narcissa Black, that house-elf Dooby or whatever his name is, and your arrest by my cousin, who has reviewed all necessary Pensieve memories and is an Auror."

"Dobby!" yelled Malfoy. The house-elf immediately popped into the room. "Yes, Mr Malfoy, sir?" asked the elf. Malfoy took off his hat.

"Here, elf," he said handing the hat to Dobby. "You're free."

"I'm free!" yelled the elf.

"You've cost me my elf!" yelled Malfoy as he drew his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"

At least that's what Harry thought Malfoy started to say, as everybody ducked and two Stunners slammed into Malfoy one of which from an invisible person. Harry saw the shimmer of a Disillusionment Charm start to fade and there stood his cousin (or more accurately, Sirius's cousin once removed) Nymphadora "Don't Call Me Nymphadora" Tonks. She took out a set of Magic-Supressing Cuffs on Malfoy and then said, "Ennervate."

Malfoy woke up and started to rant. Tonks decided to read him his rights. "Mr Malfoy, according to the Laws of Great Britain and of Magical England, You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence and used against you. Do you understand these rights which I have just read?"

Malfoy nodded his head. This was obviously the wrong answer as Tonks gave him a little punch in the back. "Yes, you filthy blood-traitor! I understand!" Malfoy responded. "When the Minister hears about this, you'll be fired, I'll be free and the other blood-traitor will be back in Azkaban."

Tonks applied a silencing charm.

**Back to present, Normal POV**

"Why didn't I hear any of this?" I asked. "I would have thought this would be all over the papers."

"First of all, it hasn't been in the papers yet," answered Harry. "Not until the Trial. Second of all, you closed off the bond as best you could _and _you were in Egypt."

"Well, I come bearing gifts," I said to them, giving Hermione the books and Harry some other books.

Hermione flew across the room (figuratively) and kissed me.

"So, have you been working on your meditations?" I asked my bondmates.

"Everyday," they said in unison. "You?"

"The same," I replied. "I think that I might be close to getting a Transformation" I said the last bit very excitedly.

"I think that we both are too," they said. A couple hours of talking, eating, and playing Exploding Snap later, the train was pulling into the station. Hermione, Harry and I had all pulled on our robes a couple of minutes before. We went to the station, where the Horseless Carriages were waiting to take us up to the school for our Third Year.

After the Sorting and the Feast, Dumbledore introduced the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a man named Remus Lupin. From my vantage point, I could also see Malfoy sneering. He was telling the others at the Slytherin table that his house-elves dress better than that.

It was true. Lupin didn't seem to be well-dressed at all. His robes were torn in some places, and the smell—the cat in me smelled…something that it did not like about the man. I could tell that Harry and Hermione felt the same way. Quite quickly, the Feast was over, and we went up to the Common Room, following my pompous brother Percy, who was quite in his element.

"First years, with me!" he was shouting. "Gryffindors, keep up!" When we got to the Tower, Percy said to the Fat Lady, "Fortuna Major" and she opened to reveal the Gryffindor Common Room.

It was nice being back at Hogwarts—a nice bed, Hermione, good food (better than Mum's even), Harry, the library, and Harry and Hermione.

The next morning, I was quite excited, as our first lesson would be Defence Against The Dark Arts. We would get to see whether Lupin would be good like Shacklebolt (who had just taught until the end of the year, as his injury was healed and he could resume Regular Duty at the Aurors) or lousy like Lockhart (a fraud, now in prison) or Quirrell (a stutterer and follower of Lord Voldemort, now dead).

When we got to class, Lupin told us to put their books away and to follow him, as he had something to show them that he just found the previous night. While we were walking to the Faculty Room, we came across Peeves stuffing some chewing gum into a keyhole in a door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Lupin. "Filch will not be happy at all."

"Ooh, It's loony, loony Lupin!" said the poltergeist as he continued to stuff the gum in the hole. He also continued to sing "Loony, loony, Lupin!"

"Watch this," Lupin told the class as he pulled out his wand. "Wadiwasi!"

The gum shot up into Peeves' nose, and he sped off.

"Cool!" said one of the Gryffindors in the class, a black boy named Dean Thomas.

"Thank you, Dean" said the professor as we walked. Lupin went to the faculty room and whispered the password, and the door swung open.

Snape was just about to walk out. "Don't bother closing the door, Lupin," he said. "I'm not sure if anyone has told you, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I'd advise you not to trust him with anything important, unless one of the Golden Trio" he sneered the title, "Is whispering instructions in his ear."

"I was rather hoping that Mr Longbottom would help me with the first part of my lesson, and I'm sure that he'll do it admirably." said Lupin as Snape's lip curled in disgust. Snape walked out the door.

There was a wardrobe at the end of the room, where the teachers kept their spare robes, I noticed. Professor Lupin noticed us looking with curiosity at the box, as if there was something in it. There must have been _something_ in it, as it kept shaking around.

"No need to worry, it's just a boggart" he said. _A boggart? Not again! _"Now, can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?"

Naturally, Hermione had her hand up. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"It a shape-shifter, sir," she said. "It takes on the form of whatever fears us the most."

_Yes, what fears us the most,_ I thought. _The last time I saw a boggart it turned into dead Harry and Hermione. Will it stay the same?_

"Mr Longbottom," called the professor. "Come here, please. Now, what scares you the most?"

Neville mumbled something that the class couldn't hear, and apparently, neither could Lupin.

"Could you speak up, as I couldn't hear you," asked the professor.

"Professor Snape," answered Neville timidly.

"Yes, he scares us all," commented Lupin. "Now, how to make Snape funny?" Lupin got a grin that I had seen many times from my brothers and from Sirius. The smile was gone very quickly though. _He probably thought it was unprofessional to have that grin and thoughts of pranking Snape._

"I believe that you live with your grandmother?" asked Lupin kindly. Neville nodded, and Lupin whispered something in his ear before standing up and addressing the class.

"What finishes off a boggart is laughter. You have to make it assume a funny form. There is a simple spell to make it change it's shape, but it requires concentration on something funny, as Mr Longbottom will demonstrate in a minute. The charm is _Riddikulus!"_

Lupin turned his wand on the wardrobe and the doors opened. Out stepped Professor Snape. "Remember what I told you," encouraged Lupin.

"_Riddikulus!" _shouted Neville. The boggart changed from Professor Snape to Professor Snape with Neville's Grandmother's hat, her handbag, and dress. Nearly everyone in the room started to laugh.

"OK, everyone! Form a line" said the professor.

Parvati was next. The boggart turned into a bloodstained, bandaged mummy, which she made trip over its bandages. It turned into a banshee for Seamus, who simply silenced it. It went through most of the class, and it was getting confused before it was my turn. When the boggart saw me, it turned into a dead Harry and Hermione. _How do I make this funny? _I thought, before thinking of them kissing and casting the _Riddikulus _charm.

Immediately, the boggart Harry and Hermione gasped and started kissing each other. Harry was next. The boggart briefly turned into a Dead Ginny and Hermione before Lupin put himself in between Harry and the Boggart. The professor most likely hadn't seen what Harry's boggart actually was, but he then vanished it back into the wardrobe. _His boggart is the full moon! Could that mean...? _ I thought as he dismissed the class giving five points to everyone who faced the boggart. I could tell through the bond that Harry and Hermione were thinking the same thing.

As Lupin was walking out the door, he called to us, "Harry, Hermione, Ginny, could you come with me?"

A/N: Sorry about the cliffy

I have also taken down the epilogue to _A Missed Traffic Light, _as it is no longer is relevant/has events/timings that are being moved up significantly.

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but this series is so far out of my comfort zone anyway that I thought I'd give it a try. Usually, I prefer Harry/Hermione or Harry/any girl other than Ginny and Hermione/Any one other than Ron or Draco.


	4. Animaguses

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 4

_As Lupin was walking out the door, he called to us, "Harry, Hermione, Ginny, could you come with me?"_

We hesitated for a minute before following him. "You're not in trouble," he said as we walked. "Unless you've done something I don't know about."

He led us to his office, where he put a kettle of tea on the stove. I noticed that he didn't just use magic to make the tea, like mum would've done.

"I knew your parents," he said to Harry. Turning to me, he said, "_Your_ parents were in the same group as Harry's parents, an almost Anti-Voldemort League, but I didn't know them as well." He looked at Hermione, and didn't know what to say.

"You were a substitute once at my school," said Hermione. "That must mean that you have lived quite often in the Muggle world, as you didn't stand out."

"How's Padfoot doing?" asked Remus. We told him about the summer and what went on. Harry had one question to ask though.

"Why didn't you come round the house this summer?" he asked.

"I had work to do, and I have a certain condition that doesn't allow me to get much work," replied the professor. "You three are a lot closer than anyone your age. Do you have some sort of Soul Bond?"

"Holy Mother of Merlin!" shouted Harry to triplet cries of, "Harry, Language!" (from me, Hermione, and Lupin), Harry continued, "Is every magical creature, and adult over the age of 21 going to find out about this before we_ reach_ 21?"

"No," responded Lupin honestly. "It's just that I have a condition that, while it doesn't allow me to get much work, also gives me some heightened senses. I can most certainly tell that you three are very close."

"You're a werewolf, aren't you?" I asked quietly. After I asked, Lupin drew back like someone had slapped him.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"You know what Padfoot's been training us in?" asked Hermione.

"We're all big cats, and big cats most certainly can smell dog on you, even stronger than Padfoot," Harry added.

"You're not going to reject me, say that I'm an evil half-breed who ought to be put down?" asked Lupin.

"Let me ask _you_ a question," I said. "Did James and Sirius ever care about your condition?"

"No," replied the werewolf. "They called it my furry little problem. They became Animaguses to keep me company during the moon."

"Then we certainly don't care." we said.

"OK, OK," he said. "Did Padfoot ever tell you the time that we pranked McGonagall?"

\\/

Soon, it was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Amazingly, I was allowed to go, since I was a Third-Year (age apparently did not matter, which is what I worried about). Harry, Hermione and I went to all the great spots, Tomes and Scrolls (the bookshop), Zonko's Joke Shop, Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and Honeydukes.

After we were done looking at the sights and buying things, we went to the Three Broomsticks, where we each got a Butterbeer, before we decided to look at the Shrieking Shack. We got a little closer than most, as we already knew its purpose. Lupin had told us that the Shrieking Shack, which was connected to the Hogwarts Grounds by a tunnel that led to the Whomping Willow, was where he went to Transform when he was in school.

After a while, we got bored and decided to go back to the school. On the way, however, we met Sirius, who suggested that we go to the hills and try our meditations some more. This time, when I meditated, something was different. I could feel the fur rippling down my body, my muscles expanding. This time the Lion had emerged. It looked like Harry and Hermione were able to transform as well.

**What should we do? **I asked over our bond.

**We should sneak up behind Padfoot and scare the…daylights out of him **responded Harry. Padfoot most certainly was not paying attention as we sneaked up behind him and tackled him. He changed into Padfoot, and soon, everyone was having a good time.

Sirius transformed back into a human and told us that all we needed to do was to want to be human again. We did so, but he failed to mention that clothing doesn't always come with the transformation. Sirius took some leaves and Transfigured them into clothes as we all tried to cover ourselves. One thing that Harry was not able to fully cover was his Thing, which was quite large.

We decided to go to Gladrags, where we bought some actual clothes, which we changed into behind a couple of trees. When we got back to the castle, we were informed that Professor McGonagall wished to speak to Harry and I.

When we got to her office, we noticed that all four heads of house were there, along with the Quidditch Captains.

"I just received messages from the Broom Companies, wishing to know if we wanted to continue as we did last year," McGonagall told us.

"Absolutely not!" shouted Snape. His Captain, a man who looked like he had some troll in him, nodded as well.

"I always thought it was a great idea," said Professor Sprout, the Herbology Mistress and Head of Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, her captain, was nodding in agreement with her. "I know that most people think that Hufflepuffs are a load of old duffers, but I found our agreement to be such a Hufflepuff ideal."

"I agree with Professor Sprout," said Flitwick. "Even though we are stereotypically the 'brainy ones', Ravenclaws admire fair play. I suggest that we renew."

"Mr Potter?" asked McGonagall. "Your opinion?"

"Why do want my opinion," Harry asked. "I was the one who came up with the idea, specifically to counter the massive advantage that Slytherin assumed that it would have. While I am disappointed that I am no longer able to ride the First Broom I ever bought, I think that a fair game is better than an unfair game. In the Professional Games, everyone flies a comparable broom. There is no reason that the same shouldn't apply to amateur games as well."

"Very well." said Professor McGonagall. "With a vote of 3-1, the Heads agree to renew the agreement."

As we went upstairs, Harry seemed to be lost in thought. A little while later, I saw him with a lot of parchments in front of him.

"What are you doing, and why do you have that idiotic grin on your face?" I asked him.

"You'll see in a couple of days," he said.

A couple of days later, the headlines were huge.

**Potter creates new Charity for Werewolves**

_Mr Harry Potter, 13, of Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, announced yesterday that he was going to create a new charity for werewolves. "One of my father's friends is a werewolf," Potter said, speaking to us from Hogwarts, where he is in his third year. "From what the Potions Master has said, there is a potion that will allow werewolves to keep their minds during the transformation, and therefore not be as dangerous. Obviously, even with the potion, a Werewolf Bite will Turn the victim, but there is a significantly reduced risk of that."_

_The Potions Master that Potter spoke of seems to be Severus Snape, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts. It should be noted that normally, Mr Snape and Mr Potter have an adversarial relationship. We reached out to Mr Snape, who said this. "I am glad to see that for once, Prince Potter was paying attention in my class. Potter, the potion is the Wolfsbane Potion, and I have made some significant improvements to the generally accepted formula."_

_When we reached out to the Ministry about this action, Spokeswitch Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic said, "Werewolves are dark creatures. All half-breeds are Dark Creatures and should be wiped out. Mr Potter is under investigation for Treason."_

_While the _Prophet _cannot find any laws (up to and including 'Treason') that Mr Potter might be breaking, a Spokeswizard for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement said that no warrants are out for Mr Potter's arrest, and most certainly not for treason. When the Spokeswizard was asked about the Treason Charge, he said, "A treason charge would have to come from way above the Minister's paygrade. Most of us do not realise it, but our Minister is under the authority of HRH The Queen. Any treason charge would have to come from her."_

On page two, there was a headline that was just as large as the front page.

**Bid on a chance to win Harry Potter's First School Broom**

_Mr H Potter, of Hogwarts, announced today that he will be auctioning off his Nimbus 2000 that he flew during his first year at Hogwarts. In order to place a bid, please go to Teller Griphook at Gringotts Bank, and he will process your bid. The proceeds of this auction will go to the newly formed _Marauders Foundation, _which will provide werewolves with Wolfsbane Potion, so that they can keep their minds during their transformations and reduce healing time after a transformation._

_One expert, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, stated that a regular Transformation takes around three days to heal from, whilst with Wolfsbane, it is reduced to one day, meaning that if a werewolf somehow manages to get a job, the werewolf will miss fewer days._

"_I was thinking that since you seem to think that I am the Boy-Who-Lived, your hero, and all that stuff, that I should do something to give back." Potter said from Hogwarts. "My broom is in perfect condition and it was a good broom, but due to the Sponsorship program at Hogwarts, I now ride a Comet. If the bids get to be over 1000 Galleons, then I will even autograph the broom."_

_Mr Potter notes that he hates it when people think that they know Mr Potter, even when they haven't met him before, and being a Celebrity. "I didn't even know that I was a wizard until I was eleven, and Hagrid came to give me my letter. My aunt and Uncle told me my parents were drunks who died in a car crash."_

_A car is a type of Horseless Carriage that the Muggles use, and a 'drunk' is someone who overindulges in alcohol. A car crash is when one 'car' hits another and blows up._

_Bidding starts at one Galleon, and is expected to exceed the 1000-Galleon mark by noon._

A/N:

I just realised that there is no way in hell that Remus could be at the Beginning of the Year Feast in _Prisoner of Azkaban. _The reason: 1 September 1993 was a full moon, as was 30 September (known as a "blue moon")

Chapter 3 will also most likely be one of the chapters that's closer to Canon than the others.

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but this series is so far out of my comfort zone anyway that I thought I'd give it a try. Usually, I prefer Harry/Hermione or Harry/any girl other than Ginny and Hermione/Any one other than Ron or Draco.


	5. Dementors

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 5

A couple of days later, the staggering results poured in. The auction for Harry Potter's broom had ended at 31,415,926 Galleons, which (except for a 5% administration fee to Gringotts) all went to Harry Potter's new foundation for the werewolves.

This year was Oliver Wood's final year at Hogwarts, and Harry and I soon realised that he would be working the Team even harder. Since none of the team graduated the previous year, I was still a reserve. Fortunately for me, there were going to be some openings at Chaser in the next couple of years.

Harry, Hermione, and I still had a slight problem with our Animagus transformations—we couldn't transform our clothes, meaning that we had to be close to somewhere we could change back into our normal clothes. Sirius told us one Hogsmeade trip that it would just take some time.

On that same Hogsmeade visit, we brought the Twins and Ron (who was now one of their partners-in-crime) and told them there was someone that they wanted to meet.

"Who?" they asked.

"It's a surprise," we told them.

"Guys, this is Sirius Black" I told them once we got to the Three Broomsticks. They were looking at me strangely, as they knew that's who it was. "You might be interested in his old nickname," I offered.

"Yes, back when James, Remus, the traitor, and I used to prank the school, the Slytherins, Snivellus, the Slytherins, and Snivellus." offered Sirius.

"Prank?" said one of the twins. "Professor Lupin used to pull pranks?" asked the other.

"Yes," said Harry. "His name is Moony" said Hermione.

"Moony?" asked the twins in awe. "As in Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"Yes," said Sirius.

"Which one are you? Who are the others?" asked the twins in stereo.

"James Potter was Prongs," offered Harry.

"The traitor was Wormtail," said Ginny.

"Professor Lupin was Moony" said Hermione.

"And...I...am...Padfoot!" said Sirius, putting a space between each word to elongate the sentence.

The twins dropped into a bow, "We are not worthy to stand in thy presence!"

\\/

Hagrid had been promoted to Care of Magical Creatures professor over the holiday, and Ginny was excited at the class, though Malfoy had attempted to ruin it on the first day. Hagrid had just got done telling people that you really should not insult Hippogriffs if you want to live, and Malfoy called it "a great ugly brute." The Hippogriff had then attempted to seriously injure Malfoy, and he was injured.

Malfoy played up the injury though, and Slytherin decided that they needed to postpone the first game of the year, so it was going to be Hufflepuff v Gryffindor in the first game of the year. I noticed that Hufflepuff had a very good looking Seeker, by the name of Cedric Diggory, who was also their Captain.

The weather for the game was dreadful. It was a torrential downpour on the field. Obviously, no one ever had the bright idea to erect shield charms around the Quidditch pitch. _I should suggest that to Harry and the others later_, I thought.

The game was scoreless for the first 20 minutes, as no one could see where they were going or where the Quaffle was. A Hufflepuff goal got past Wood at the 22 minute mark, and Gryffindor managed to answer within ten minutes. About a half hour into the game, a chill came over the stadium, and I felt as if I'd never be happy again. _Dementors are circling the arena! _I thought desperately. I knew that the charm to repel Dementors was rather hard, and it hadn't even been mentioned in most of the books I'd read.

Just then from the cloud layer I saw two figures in Quidditch robes. One was falling at an alarming pace, and the other was trying to catch the first. The second figure also had the Snitch in his hand. I then realised that it was Harry falling right before Dumbledore screamed, "_Arresto Momentum!"_ and Harry slowed down enough for Cedric to catch him. Dumbledore then cast a spell and from his wand emerged a white phoenix which charged at the Dementors. He then told everyone to get back in the castle, and even from 300 feet away, I could tell that Dumbledore was livid.

Hermione and I both went up to the Hospital Wing after thanking Cedric for catching Harry. Cedric then tried to tell us that it was an unfair match, and that there should be a replay, but the laws of the game stated that there are no replays. As always, Harry was unconscious when we got to the Hospital Wing. We cast some drying spells on our clothes and went to our customary Harry-watching positions as we waited for him to wake up.

"Dementors on the pitch!" we heard a Scottish brogue nearly yelling a half hour later. "Why were they their, and how did they get onto the grounds?" It must be McGonagall, Hermione and I thought. She was getting harder to understand by the second.

"I just called the DMLE, again," came the voice of the Headmaster. His voice sounded as though he was walking towards the Hospital Wing. "Until we can prove otherwise, they have issued a warrant for the arrest of everyone, including the Minister, in the Minister's Office."

"I know that there were [unintelligible]" said McGonagall.

"Minerva, my dear, who are the only people that can control the Dementors?" asked the Headmaster.

"Well, the people from...oh! That evil man!"

The voices were nearly at the door now. Right as I thought this, the doors to the Hospital Wing flew open, and Dumbledore and McGonagall came through the entrance. Madame Pomfrey came out of her office.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," she said before realising who was at the door. "I suppose that you want an update on the Potter boy?"

Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

"Well, he has the symptoms of exposure to Dementors, certainly," she started. "He also fell quite far before being stopped. That caused some of his internal systems to not function properly. The boy was nearly Kissed, Albus!"

Pomfrey paused for a moment before saying, almost as an afterthought, "And he also has exposure to the elements from that dratted game and the weather. It looks as though he was hit in the head with a bludger. Did you ever think about putting up shield charms around the stadium? Or anti-weather wards around the pitch?"

I could see the triumphant look on McGonagall's face, and could tell that she had asked that same question of Dumbledore before entering my hearing range.

Harry woke up briefly a couple hours later. The whole Quidditch team had joined us at this point.

"What happened?" asked Harry. "What were those things?"

"Those were Dementors," said Lupin from across the Wing. "They feed on all happy memories, and force you to relive your worst."

"I heard Mum," Harry stated. "And dad. Right before Voldemort killed them." Everybody flinched at the name.

"What happened about the game, though?" asked Harry, curious.

"No one is blaming you for what happened, Harry," said Hermione.

"As you fell, Cedric caught the Snitch," I continued.

"He tried to call for a replay"

"But they are illegal" I finished. "We lost 20-170."

"And my broom?" asked Harry.

"It flew away into that damned tree," said Ron, finally saying something. "And that tree doesn't like to be hit. It completely destroyed your broom, Harry. You'll have to get a new one."

"Last I heard," said Angelina. "Wood was still in the shower. We think he's trying to drown himself. If he's not here in ten minutes, we'll go looking for him." She wiggled her eyebrows at this, suggesting that _she _was going to go into the Men's Showers to find Wood. She whispered something in one of the other girls' ears, but I wasn't close enough to hear. The other girl (Katie Bell) gave a funny little giggle. _It must have been something indecent,_ I thought.

_**Dumbledore accuses Minister, 'Dementors' at Hogwarts **_(read the headline the next morning)

_Has Dumbledore lost it? According to sources, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School, who just celebrated his eleventy-first birthday last year, has accused the Minister of sending Dementors to the school during an inter-House Quidditch match._

"_There were Dementors at the school," the Headmaster wrote in a statement to the Prophet and the DMLE. "One of the Dementors caused the Gryffindor Seeker to fall off his broom, and nearly plummet to his death. It was only the quick reaction of Mr Diggory _(who the Prophet can reveal is Hufflepuff Seeker Cedric Diggory, son of Ministry Worker Amos)_ and myself that saved Mr Potter from having much more severe injuries."_

_The Minister had this to say about the alleged incident: "There are no Dementors outside the control of the Ministry, and no one in my office ordered the Dementors from their posts at Azkaban. At 111 years old, I'm afraid that Albus Dumbledore has lost all touch with reality."_

_Responding to the Minister's statement, Dumbledore replied that he would only be convinced if, "Every person in the Ministry took an Oath on their Magic that they did not order a Dementor to Hogwarts". The Headmaster then demonstrated by saying the oath, "I, Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, do solemnly swear on my life and my magic that I did not order any Dementors to leave Azkaban. I also swear on my life and magic that there were indeed Dementors present at Hogwarts' Quidditch Pitch."_

_The Chief Warlock stated that it was not necessary to state one's titles in the swearing. He also did a Hover charm on a quill at this point. With this information, the _Prophet _has learned that there is an Arrest Warrant for every member of the Minister's Office, and an Impeachment Arrest Warrant for the Minister himself._

"_I'm afraid that those allegations are completely false," said the Minister. "Now, go away before I call the Aurors, as you are trespassing on the Minister's Mansion. I'll also have you all arrested for perjury, defamation, slander, and libel!" It was at this point, no less than 10 seconds after he finished talking, that Aurors showed up to escort us off the property._

_He also released a Confidential Report from St Mungo's stating that Professor Dumbledore does not have the mental capacity to head the International Confederation of Wizards, the Wizengamot, and Hogwarts, and called for Dumbledore's immediate resignation from all those posts._

"_Professor Dumbledore is the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has seen since the Founders themselves," said Augusta Longbottom, member of the Wizengamot (Proxy for Heir Longbottom) and Member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. It should be noted that her 13-year old grandson is currently in his third year at Hogwarts. "If Dumbledore said that there were Dementors there, then they were there." (For an article about Longbottom's history, see page 13. For her connections to Terrorist groups in Russia, see page B-14.)_

I was livid. The minister was trying to say that Dumbledore was an old fool and should resign all his posts! The world would collapse if there were no transitional period. Dumbledore had the upper hand, though. He called for all Ministry Employees to swear an oath, and anyone who refused could theoretically be brought up on attempted murder charges.

In a special edition released that afternoon, it was revealed that Fudge, along with most of his top aides, had taken the oath under extreme duress, as the Wizarding World had called for him to do so. His job was put on the line again, though, when a Dolores Umbridge refused to take the oath and was taken into custody. Her Veritiserum trial would begin the following Monday.

A/N:

Certain things relating to anatomy will not be mentioned in any of my stories. Just figure there's a potion for that

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but I wanted to do something different for a change


	6. Trials

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 6

The trial for Umbridge was very revealing. She admitted to hating all non-Pure-Bloods, and what she called "Half-breeds," and that she had sent the Dementors to attack the game to eliminate as many "Mudbloods, Half-bloods, and Blood-Traitors" as possible. In the end, she received Two Hundred years in Azkaban (for attempted Murder in the First Degree) for every student in Hogwarts. The _Prophet _also revealed that she admitted to being encouraged to do so by Lucius Malfoy, who was also now under suspicion.

I found this to be amazing. Two of the greatest enemies to peace in our time eliminated in one swoop. Malfoy qualified, as he was a 'former' Death Eater and because he fronted the Gold for the release of many of his Death Eater colleagues. It was revealed that, once again, Malfoy had bribed his way out of Prison, and now the Minister himself was under investigation. At the moment, Lady Longbottom was the Acting Minister of Magic.

Umbridge wouldn't care about a Half-blood or Muggle-born if they were the last two Magicals on earth.

I heard scuttlebutt saying that, when the Aurors were taking Umbridge to her cell (which they then sealed for the next 8000 years, give or take a couple of hundred), it was found that Umbridge was also a Death Eater. The _Prophet _was also forced to apologise for its comments, especially after being reorganised by one Lord Sirius Black.

Gryffindor lost at Quidditch for the first time since I was at Hogwarts. Fortunately, the other results were good for Gryffindor, so if we put up a good showing at the next couple games, then we'd still have a shot at our third trophy in a row.

The full moon after the game, I walked into class with Harry and Hermione to see Severus Snape sitting in the professor's chair.

"Turn your books to page 394," he said. The class went downhill from there. Page 394 started the chapter on werewolves. I gave Hermione a look and thought, _Is he trying to reveal Lupin's problem?_

She returned the look. _I think he is, _she thought.

_Look at the vindictive look on his face, _thought Harry. _Of course Snape is trying to 'out' our Defence Professor, as he figures that if he gets rid of enough of them, maybe he'll get the job._

The next Hogsmeade trip, the Twins and Ron told us to stay back for a minute, under the pretext of returning something to us. When we met them, they handed over a piece of parchment I was very familiar with given the events of last year, when we captured Pettigrew using it. It was the Marauder's Map.

"We figured that since your dad helped create it, Harry," said one twin (call him "Fred").

"That it's right to give it to you," said "George"

"It's really a shame giving it to you, though," chimed in Ron. Ron seemed to have taken Lee Jordan's place by the Twins' sides. "Although those two have it mostly memorised."

"Ginny will tell you how to work it," said "Fred". I still couldn't tell if it was actually Fred or George, but it was the first Twin that started the conversation.

"As this baby is how we captured Peter Pettigrew last year," said George.

"Have fun," said Ron. "We need to be off, now, you know, things to buy!"

As the Twins and Ron left, Harry and Hermione turned to stare at me.

"What?" I asked in the most innocent voice I could muster. "They made me swear an oath!"

Soon, it was Christmas once again. Mum and Dad invited all of us home, including Harry and Hermione. The day that break started, we took the _Express _to London, and from there, we took the Floo Network to The Burrow.

On Christmas morning, I woke up to find a pile of presents on my bed. Hermione was also in my room, so I woke her up, and we started to open our presents. Ron got me the usual candy, Mum of course made (both Hermione and I) Weasley jumpers, Hermione got me _The Harpies: A History _by Gwenog Jones, and Harry got me a very fashionable bracelet. Hermione and I pulled on our new jumpers and went downstairs to join in the festivities.

When we got downstairs, we found Harry near in a state of shock, as he was holding a brand new broom, a brand new _Comet 5000_, the model used by the Gryffindor team.

"I was going to get him a Firebolt," Sirius said. "But then I remembered that Gryffindor was a Comet team."

"Why is he in shock?" I asked.

"Because Dumbledore was stupid enough not to get the brooms insured, and these babies cost about a thousand a pop."

Sirius must have been around Muggles again. It was only when he was around Muggles that he talked like this. _One Thousand Galleons for a broom?_ No wonder Malfoy was trying to show off. If it weren't for this sponsorship, every team but Slytherin would be at a great disadvantage.

That afternoon, Mum made a wonderful dinner that almost rivalled the Elves at Hogwarts. There was turkey, ham, roast potatoes, and assorted vegetables. By the time we were done with pudding, we were all quite full.

As we were almost in a vegetative state after dinner and were sitting in the living room talking, I realised quite how beautiful Hermione was. After I noticed this, Hermione blushed as she realised the same thing about me. All in all, I think that Harry, Hermione, and my third Christmas together was a good one. It was rather early when we all went up to bed to sleep off the feast.

The next morning there was at least 3-6 inches of snow on the ground, so naturally, we all pulled on our jackets and went out into the snow. We had a massive snowball fight that only ended when Mum forced us to come in, as we'd been outside in the cold and wet for quite a number of hours. Even Percy (begrudgingly) had joined in. Mum gave us all hot chocolate after we'd changed into drier clothes.

Over the Holidays, I noticed that quite often, Ron was with the Twins. It was strange, though, because every so often, there would be some sort of explosion from the Twins' room. More often than not, Ron came out of the Twins' room with a dumb look on his face. _Maybe they are trying to completely _Obliviate _him,_ I jokingly thought to myself.

Hermione and I grew much closer over the Holiday, and by the time we got back, a couple of the other girls in our Dormitory noticed.

"Is there something going on between you two?" asked Parvati, moving her hands in a motion that indicated getting together.

"Uhh, no" Hermione and I said together, blushing.

"Well, I don't care," said Parvati. "It's just that might be a safer option. You know, less heartbreak."

"Why do you say that?" said Hermione.

"Because Trelawney has predicted Potter's death at least 40 times this year so far," responded Parvati. Lavender was nodding her head. "It might be safer if you weren't involved with Potter."

"I can't believe you!" started Hermione. She looked as though she was about to 'blow her top.' "You're supposed to be Gryffindors, and support Harry. And Divination is such a woolly subject. Arithmancy is so much better."

"Just because you can't learn it out of a book doesn't mean that its useless," said Lavender spitefully. "That's your problem with brooms, too. You can't understand things if it isn't in a book."

"News flash, Hermione!" said Parvati. "You can't interact with the world only by reading."

"Ease up on her!" I shouted. "I can't understand why you like the subject either. I've never made fun of you for it, though."

Hermione and I shut the curtains on our beds as we went to sleep. I really just wanted to _Crucio_ the other girls, though.

Immediately after term started, Wood started practise again. We were down 0-1 in the standings, so the next two games were must win scenarios for us. The week before the game, however, Harry, Hermione, and I received a Wizengamot summons, as Hagrid's Hippogriff was going to be executed for attacking Draco Malfoy earlier in the year.

When we got to the trial, we soon realised that, even with Malfoy's father in prison, the result of the hearing was not in our favour. The prosecutor seemed very reluctant to allow us as defence witnesses.

"Do you wish to insult the Head of two Most Ancient and Noble Houses, saying that he cannot provide testimony?" asked Dumbledore, who instead of his usual position as Chief Warlock, was instead acting as Defence Barrister for Hagrid and the Hippogriff.

"Go ahead," said the prosecutor. "Bastard." he muttered under his breath. "Muggle-loving fool."

The Headmaster called Harry to the stand. "I, Harry Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter and Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, do solemnly swear on my life and magic that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and may Merlin have mercy on my soul."

The Wizengamot gasped. This obviously was not usually done. Harry gave his testimony, and many on the panel seemed to be swayed by his testimony.

In the end, Hagrid and the Hippogriff were freed of all charges, but then came the kicker from the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman. According to the original schedule, the first game was supposed to be Gryffindor v Slytherin, but since Malfoy 'had an injury,' the game was moved.

Now that it was proven that the Slytherin team had cheated by exaggerating a player injury, Bagman decreed that all Slytherin games for the season would be forfeited 150-0, giving each team a win. By the time we got back to the school, everyone seemed to know that Hufflepuff was now in the lead for the Quidditch Cup, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor in second and third place. Ravenclaw would play Hufflepuff the next weekend, and Gryffindor would play Ravenclaw in the spring. This didn't cheer me up any, because Hufflepuff could clinch the cup.

Fortunately for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff lost the next weekend, so Hufflepuff finished the season with two wins, and Ravenclaw was now in the lead with two wins. Unfortunately, if Gryffindor won their game versus Ravenclaw, then it would go to Goal Difference to determine the winner. I wondered who would be injured or in detention this year to give me my yearly Quidditch game.

Shortly after term started, I started having nightmares about my experiences with Tom the previous year, and Hermione moved into my bed at night. This helped with the nightmares quite a bit.

A/N:

I got the idea about the forfeits from a fic where Harry buys a Firebolt, but it is confiscated, and Harry wants to get his revenge (I can't think of the title or author)

Certain things relating to anatomy will not be mentioned in any of my stories. Just figure there's a potion for that

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but I wanted to do something different for a change

There may be hints of Femslash (i.e. G/Hr) along with H/Hr and H/G and H/Hr/G. I have also decided **NO HORCRUXES**, however, Voldemort will return sometime in the next couple years (not giving any hints)

Quidditch Results: (Gryffindor needs to be up by thirty points before catching the Snitch, because with just an extra 170 points, they would be tied with Hufflepuff, but Hufflepuff scored more points)

Gryffindor v Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff 200-100

Ravenclaw v Slytherin: Forfeit to Ravenclaw 150-0

Hufflepuff v Slytherin: Forfeit to Hufflepuff 150-0

Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw 180-150

Gryffindor v Slytherin: Forfeit to Gryffindor 150-0

Quidditch Table:

Team Wins Losses PF PA PD

Ravenclaw: 2 0 330 150 +180

Hufflepuff 2 1 500 280 +220

Gryffindor 1 1 250 200 +50

Slytheri 450 -450


	7. Patronuses

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 7

Patronuses

WARNING: SLIGHT LANGUAGE NEAR THE END. I ACTUALLY THINK THAT THE LANGUAGE IS A BIT TAME FOR THE SITUATION, BUT I DON'T WANT ANYONE COMPLAINING

The girls in the dormitory quickly noticed the new sleeping arrangement. One day, they circled around me.

"So, how is she in bed?" asked Parvati.

"What?" I asked.

"How is Granger in bed?" asked Lavender.

"We just sleep. We don't do anything else." I replied, much to the disappointment of the other girls.

"Ahh, come on!" they said in disappointment, right as Hermione got out of the bed.

"What are they so disappointed about?" she asked me as we were walking down to breakfast with Harry.

"They found out about our new sleeping arrangements," I told Hermione. Harry looked puzzled, as we hadn't told him.

"New sleeping arrangements?" asked Harry, curious.

"I've been having some nightmares," I told him. "About last year."

"And?"

"Hermione has been sleeping in my bed." I told him bluntly.

"Hermione has been...sleeping in your bed?" he asked. "As in..." he made a gesture with his hands.

"Just sleeping, Harry." I reassured him. "It does help quite a lot, though."

As we were walking to class later, Harry brought up the subject again.

"I wouldn't mind if you two _were _doing things together," Harry said. "Just as long as I get my turn once the proper time around."

Hermione then went on one of her 'educational speeches', about how it was legal for a homosexual couple to have sex at 11, and for an unmarried heterosexual couple, it was 14. She also mentioned that betrothed couples could start with that type of activity much earlier.

A month before the final match of the Quidditch Season, Professor Lupin called Hermione and I into his office after class.

"I've been teaching Harry a very difficult piece of magic called the Patronus Charm," he said.

"That repels Dementors!" I exclaimed, right as Hermione was opening her mouth to say the same thing. Lupin looked at us in amusement.

"How much are you able to do with that bond?" he asked, curious. It looked as though he had an academic interest in our Bond.

"We can do a lot of stuff," I said, before Hermione continued, "So you're teaching Harry the Patronus?"

"Yes," he said. "And if you want, I can teach you too."

Immediately after he said that, Hermione and I were nodding our heads.

"Well, then," said the werewolf. "A Patronus charm acts as a sort of guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor. Like I said before, it's a difficult piece of magic, so much so that there are many adult witches and wizards that cannot produce a Corporal Patronus."

I must have had a blank look on my face, because Hermione whispered in my ear, "It means it has a form."

"Right you are, Hermione," said Lupin. It was obvious that the hearing of a werewolf, even a non-transformed one, was superior to that of a normal human. "It takes a unique shape for each witch and wizard, although I have known a couple duplicates. A person who will not be named, who attended school with James and Lily, had the same Patronus as she did."

He then continued after taking a sip of tea. "The incantation is _Expecto Patronum_. The thing is that the spell alone will not help you. Whilst you are casting the spell, you must concentrate on a memory—a single happy memory. You must allow it to fill you up."

After a couple of minutes, Hermione and I started to attempt the spell. After a couple tries, we got a mist.

These lessons went on for a couple of weeks. We were all still getting mist. It was very hard for Harry and I, because we not only had homework and Patronus lessons, but Quidditch practise, as the final game versus Ravenclaw was coming up.

A couple of days before the game, Angelina Johnson came down with the Spring Flu, a severe form of the normal flu, so she wouldn't be able to play. _Why is it that it's always the Third game of the year I get to play? _I thought to myself after hearing the news. I looked at the Hogwarts Quidditch Standings tables. If Gryffindor lost, then Ravenclaw would win the cup no matter what. If Gryffindor won, then it would come down to goal difference. The magic number for the Gryffindors was 180. If they scored 180 more points than Ravenclaw (a tall order at any time), then Gryffindor would win the cup over Hufflepuff, who would win if Gryffindor failed to score that many points.

It was a bright, sunny, day for the match. We pulled on our robes in the Dressing Room.

**Neutral Point of View**

"OK, guys," said Wood. He was quickly interrupted by the chasers, who all said as one, "and Girls"

"And girls," allowed Wood. "This is it. This is the big one. If we win, then we're the champions. We've got two great beaters"

"Yeah!" the team shouted.

"Two tested and True Chasers, and one who is very good,"

"Yeah!"

"And a Seeker who was never failed to win us a match under normal circumstances" Wood finished, with a glare that said, "Win or else,"

"We also have a great Keeper" said the twins.

"Welcome to the final game of the 1993-94 Quidditch Season!" shouted Lee Jordan from the Commentator's Booth. "For Gryffindor, we have in Goal, Oliver Wood! At Beater, we have Fred and George Weasley! At Chaser, we have Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet! And the late substitution, your Third Chaser, Ginny Weasley! And at Seeker, Harry Potter!"

It seemed as though Slytherin and Ravenclaw were rooting for Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff would root for Gryffindor until the score got to the tipping point, and naturally, the Gryffindors were rooting for a massive Gryffindor win.

Jordan then announced the Ravenclaw team, who had a very pretty Asian girl named Cho Chang as their Seeker. The previous year, Cho had failed to catch the Snitch, and Gryffindor had won the game 500-20. The Gryffindors were hoping for a repeat.

Harry and Ginny weren't thinking about the Ravenclaw Seeker, though. They were thinking about trying to win their Gryffindor its Third Quidditch Cup in as many years.

The game started off quickly for Ravenclaw. Wood somehow managed to give up two quick goals to the Ravenclaws, but then completely shut the door. He managed to block every single shot after that. The Gryffindors then pulled out to a 50-20 lead.

Harry noticed that Cho was following him quite closely, so he decided to do a move he saved for a special occasion. He sped down towards the ground, as if he'd seen the Snitch, and then half a metre above the ground, he pulled up. Cho wasn't so lucky, as she ploughed into the ground.

"Potter uses the Wronski Feint on Cho Chang very successfully," said Jordan from the Booth. "Madam Pomfrey is attending her, Madam Hooch has whistled play back in! Gryffindor with the Quaffle!"

Just then, Harry saw what he was looking for. Right at the Ravenclaw Goals hovered the Snitch. He raced off towards it, accidentally breaking up the Gryffindor scoring play. He then caught the Snitch and the Gryffindors went wild. Wood immediately flew over to Harry and gave him a great hug before they landed, having won the game by the score of 200-20. The team landed and then shook hands with the Ravenclaws. As Cho Chang walked past, she whispered, "Next time I won't fall for that," and Harry laughed.

**Normal Point of View (i.e. Ginny)**

McGonagall and Dumbledore brought the trophy down to the field, and handed it to Wood, his third time hoisting the Cup. Wood gave it to Harry, and Harry gave it to me (I scored four out of the five Gryffindor goals). I then handed it to the other Chasers, who then passed it to the Twins.

The party in the Gryffindor tower went on for hours. The Twins had procured Butterbeer and Firewhiskey from Hogsmeade, and the elves in the kitchen had sent a great selection of foods for "The Great Harry Potter Sir, and the Great Harry Potter Sir's Friends." Eventually, McGonagall broke the party up around midnight. Her tone suggested detentions or worse for anyone attempting to carry on any longer.

The next time we had our Patronus lessons, Harry managed to produce a Stag—a symbol of his father. This just encouraged Hermione to work harder, so she attempted the charm a number of more times before producing a doe—a female version of Harry's. The lesson after that, I managed to cast a lioness, a symbol of my Animagus form.

One day, the Headmaster called us to his office.

"I think that you are wondering why you are here," stated the Headmaster. "Would you like a sherbet lemon?"

We all shook our heads 'no.' He took one himself.

"I have called you here, because I am allowing you to go to the Muggle world for a couple days. More specifically, King's College Hospital, London. A certain surprise is almost there."

Hermione let out a squeal of delight.

"We will take the Floo to the nearest safe location," said the Headmaster. "Go to your Dormitories and get seasonable clothing that wouldn't look out of place in the Muggle world."

Within fifteen minutes, we were walking down to Hogsmeade. Once we got past the School's Wards, Dumbledore took us into the Three Broomsticks Pub, where he deposited a Galleon into a slot.

"Yell King's Cross Station," the headmaster ordered. We tossed the Floo powder and yelled the location, and moments later Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, and I were at Platform 9 and Three-Quarters.

"I have arranged transport," Dumbledore said as he led us to the exit. 'Transport' turned out to be a hire car from the Terminal. Within a half-hour, we were pulling into the Hospital Carpark. Dumbledore had given a sort of salute as we drove past Buckingham Palace (outside the security zone, of course).

"Hello," Dumbledore said to the receptionist. "We're here to see the Grangers."

"Maternity ward, take the lift to the fourth floor, NEXT!"

They took the lift up to the fourth floor, and were greeted by another reception desk.

"Name of patient?" asked the nurse.

"Emma Granger," said Dumbledore.

"You are?" asked the nurse.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of these three children. The one with the bushy hair is Hermione Granger, daughter of the aforementioned Granger. The one with the black hair is Mr Harry Potter, her boyfriend. The one with the red hair is her best friend, and Godmother of the future child."

"Waiting room is down the hall, Granger is in room 426."

We went to the Waiting Room, and then to Emma's room. Just when they got there, Doctors and nurses rushed in.

"It's good to see you," said Emma. "Now, I am in a shitload of pain here, so don't expect any more bloody brothers or sisters, Hermione. Now I remember why I waited 12 years!"

"Sorry about that," said Dan. "Any time that she has an exam or is in pain, her language worsens."

We were then ushered into the Waiting Room. Three hours later, Dan came in. "She's had the child. It's a girl!"

"What did you name her?" asked Dumbledore.

"Bianca Lily Granger," responded Dan. "Bianca is a character in _Othello_ by Shakespeare, and Lily is for Harry's mum."

I could see as we sat in the room that both Dumbledore and Harry were quite touched at this gesture.

"It was either Bianca or Viola" admitted Dan as we walked to Emma's bed.

A/N:

I've been informed (and I recognised the title immediately) that the fanfic I referred to was _10 Minutes and A Week of Hell! _By CrazyDuck5280

Certain things relating to anatomy (especially female anatomy) will not be mentioned in any of my stories. Just figure there's a potion for that

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but I wanted to do something different for a change

There may be hints of Femslash (i.e. G/Hr) along with H/Hr and H/G and H/Hr/G. I have also decided **NO HORCRUXES**, however, Voldemort will return sometime in the next couple years (not giving any hints)

Quidditch Results: Final

Gryffindor v Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff 200-100

Ravenclaw v Slytherin: Forfeit to Ravenclaw 150-0

Hufflepuff v Slytherin: Forfeit to Hufflepuff 150-0

Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw 180-150

Gryffindor v Slytherin: Forfeit to Gryffindor 150-0

Gryffindor v Ravenclaw: 200-20, Gryffindor wins Quidditch Cup

Quidditch Table:

Team Wins Losses PF PA PD

**Gryffindor 2 1 450 220 +230**

Hufflepuff 2 1 500 280 +220

Ravenclaw: 2 1 350 350 EVEN

Slytheri 450 -450


	8. Exams

The Bonds of Friendship, Book 3

Chapter 8

Exams

After Dan came in to tell us the news, we went into Emma's room, where she was holding a tiny baby girl.

"She was 36 cm, 3300 grammes at birth," said Dan.

"And I felt each and every one of them," said Emma. "I hope that you remembered our wish, Harry, Ginny?"

"We wish for you to be Bianca's godparents, with your Headmaster and McGonagall or that Sirius Black stepping in if we are unable," said Dan.

I could see that Dumbledore was taken aback by this offer, but in a good way. "I'd be honoured," said the Headmaster.

"As would we," said Harry and I.

"I can tell that there is quite a connection between the three of you," said Emma. "I'm not even magical and I can see that. I know that you will be bonded to Hermione one day."

This caused Hermione to blush and Dumbledore to look around to make sure that the door was secure. It wouldn't be any good for the Muggles to learn about this.

"Headmaster, what are the chances that Bianca will be like Hermione?" asked Dan. "I mean," he waved his hand like a wand.

"Usually, one cannot tell at the earliest for a couple months," said Dumbledore. "However, some with special abilities start manifesting straightaway. For example, I know a Metamorphmagus who started changing minutes after birth."

At our bewildered looks, the Headmaster explained, "A Metamorphmagus is someone who can change their appearance by just thinking about it. In Muggle terms, a Shape-shifter."

As we walked out of the room, Dan told us that actually, there had been a whole list of names considered for a girl.

"There was Bianca, which we chose; Viola, but we couldn't have two flower names; Helena, but that sounds like "Hell-in-a" so she'd probably get the nickname "Handbasket" or something; I never liked _Romeo and Juliet, _so that was out; all the others were too extreme or too normal."

"So you wanted to continue naming your daughters after Shakespeare characters?" asked the Headmaster.

"Yes," said Dan as we went to the pay-station and retrieved our car from the car park. We drove back to King's Cross and returned the vehicle before heading to Platform 9 ¾, where the Headmaster surreptitiously cast a spell on the barrier, allowing us entry. We took the Floo back to the school.

Since Emma's pregnancy was a complete secret, by the time we got back to the school, we were mobbed by the other students.

"The Headmaster will make an announcement at dinner," bellowed Harry. "Now move away before I curse you."

At dinner, the Deputy Headmistress banged her goblet to get the school's attention. The Headmaster stood up.

"As you might know, I and a couple of the students were gone for a good portion of the day" he started. "You might also know that Miss Hermione Granger's mother was pregnant with her second child. At approximately 12:52 this afternoon, Emma Granger gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Bianca Lily Granger. I hope that you all wish Miss Granger's sister the best of health. Thank you."

The Headmaster sat down, and we were mobbed again.

"What was the baby's vitals?" asked one girl.

"Is the baby a stinking Mudblood or a foul Muggle?" asked another girl, who somehow found herself hanging upside down from the wall.

Hermione told everyone the baby's length and weight as Snape stormed down from the High Table. "POTTER!" he bellowed.

"Yes, Professor?" asked Harry in an innocent tone.

"One hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor for the attack on my student, and another 50 from each person standing at the Gryffindor table who is not a Gryffindor. It is against the Rules to loiter at a house table that isn't your own."

"Do you apply that rule to Mr Malfoy, as well, professor?" asked Harry in a faux-nice voice.

"DETENTION!" bellowed Snape. "WITH FILCH FOR A MONTH FOR DISRESPECT!"

"I see no disrespect, Severus," said McGonagall, making her way over to the Gryffindor table. "If you apply that supposed rule, which by the way is not an official rule, then you must punish Mr Malfoy for the great number of times that he was taunted Potter or Longbottom at the Gryffindor table in the past." McGonagall turned to Harry. "Potter, Granger, Weasley, I need to see your wands, please."

We handed over our wands, and she cast a spell showing echoes of the spells we cast last. "There are no spells performed by these wands since Filius' class yesterday, Severus." she said. "Therefore, all points will be restored and Mr Potter will not serve any detentions for this."

"He must be able to cast wandless!" shouted Snape.

"My, my," said McGonagall in a mocking tone. "We you not saying yesterday that 'Potter is a mediocre wizard in every respect'? You have to make up your mind. Is Potter a powerful Wizard who can cast wandless or is he a mediocre wizard?"

Snape stormed off, muttering beneath his breath.

"I certainly hope not, Severus, for if that's the case, I will put you on probation," said McGonagall, obviously responding to something Snape said. "And I am a cat, not a hag," she yelled after him.

"Congratulations, Miss Granger," said McGonagall with a softer tone, one that I rarely heard. "A sister born on the 23rd of April with a Shakespearean name. That's almost as mad as the Headmaster sometimes," she said in an undertone.

"23 April?" I asked Hermione later.

"Traditionally, it is held that William Shakespeare, one of the greatest Playwrights of English history, was born on 23 April, which also happens to be the day of his death, 52 years later," explained Hermione.

"Oh, I get it now." I responded.

The next couple of months, the teachers piled on homework, since the exams were coming at the end of term. During these couple of weeks, Professor Dumbledore, as head of the Wizengamot, filled our paperwork for our Animagus forms, but 'forgot' to turn them in, as that would defeat the original purpose of becoming Animaguses (i.e. The element of surprise against our enemies).

At the beginning of May, McGonagall came around with parchments, needing to know whether or not we'd be continuing with the same classes next term. Harry, Hermione, and I each signed up for the same classes, as we'd be at a significant disadvantage if we chose other classes.

Soon, the exams were upon us. Hermione was going nuts as usual (to which she hit me in the head with our Arithmancy textbook—that thing must weigh 15 kilos). Even Fred and George were studying, as it was their OWL year. The number of OWLs they received would determine which classes they could take at the NEWT level, which were the exams Percy was taking. Percy, the great git, was reporting everyone and anyone to McGonagall, Filch, and even on one occasion Snape, for any minor disruption in his studying. He was driving the rest of us batty.

As exam week started, I noticed that an unusual hush fell over the castle. After our Transfiguration exam, we emerged from the room limp and ashen-faced as we compared results and bemoaned the difficulty of the exam. One of the tasks we had been set was to turn a teapot into a tortoise. This had Hermione all worried, because apparently, she thought that her tortoise looked more like a turtle. I couldn't tell the difference.

After a short lunch, we sat our Charms exams. Hermione had predicted earlier in the year that we would be tested on cheering charms, as Flitwick had emphasised them many times, and she was right. Harry slightly overdid his, so I was barely able to cast mine, because I'd start laughing every time. Unfortunately, Flitwick failed to teach us the counter-charm.

Our next exams were Care of Magical Creatures, which was a simple exam (we had to make a flobberworm stay alive for an hour), and Herbology, both of which took place the next day. In the afternoon, we had Potions, but due to interference by McGonagall, a wizard named Slughorn was administering the exam, which was to make a Confusing Solution.

The third day of exams was History of Magic, an unmitigated disaster, even if we had studied for hours on end with Hermione. I could only come up with answers for three-quarters of the questions, and I didn't have enough time to query Hermione's brain for the rest of the answers, some of which, like the Goblin who discovered banking, I made up.

Our penultimate exams were Arithmancy, which was quite easy, and Ancient Runes, which was quite hard. As we left the exam, Hermione was muttering about how she mistranslated one of the runes. Needless to say, I figured that she completed not only the exam, but the bonus questions as well, so she most likely got well over a perfect score.

Our final exam was Defence, and it was one of the most interesting exams that I'd ever faced. Lupin set up a sort of obstacle course, and therefore decided that he would call Harry, Hermione, and I last, as he wanted to remove one of the obstacles. Hermione, Harry and I were more than sure that he wanted to remove a boggart. The course involved wading through across a deep paddling pool containing a grindylow, cross a series of potholes that contained Red Caps, and squish our way across a patch of marsh whilst ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk.

We all got passed the obstacles, and I am pretty sure that I saw Lupin, who looked incredibly ill, mark an 'O' in his gradebook.

That night was the full moon. We had gotten complete control over our Animagus transformations, and Sirius allowed us to go running with Padfoot and Mooney. We went outside right before nightfall, and watched as Lupin went into the Shrieking Shack. We followed, just as we heard a groan.

"No, get out!" said Lupin.

"Oh, shit!" said Sirius. "He's forgotten his potion! Transform now!"

We transformed into our Animagus forms, just as Lupin changed (very painfully, it looked like) into a werewolf. The werewolf came forcefully at us. Harry, being the biggest of us, easily pinned the werewolf down, almost acting like a dog. The werewolf got the hint, and recognised Harry as the Alpha male. Mooney started to chase us around the Shack, until we all fell asleep sometime around three in the morning. Fortunately for us, we were able to hold our transformations even when we were sleeping.

In the morning, we went back up to the Castle in our Animagus forms, and transformed back right before getting into bed for a couple more hours rest. When we went down to breakfast that morning, we got an unpleasant surprise.

"I am very sad to tell you all that Professor Lupin has decided not to return to Hogwarts next year," the Headmaster started. "I hope that you all wish the Professor, as I do, the best of luck in his future endeavours."

The headmaster started to clap, so we joined in. For us, it was not a happy clap though. After breakfast, we went to Lupin's office, where he was packing his things, getting ready to leave.

"Why are you leaving?" asked Harry.

"Someone cough let slip the nature of my condition," responded Lupin. It may have just been me, but the cough sounded suspiciously like "Snape."

The professor continued. "I acted extremely irresponsibly last night. Snape put the potion on my desk, and I simply failed to take it. By this time tomorrow, owls will be flooding Hogwarts demanding my resignation, so I pre-empted them."

"But you were the best Defence teacher we've had!" I exclaimed, barely able to hold back my tears that the beloved teacher would be leaving the school.

"When you're like me, you get used to this sort of thing," he responded. "And I have it on good authority that you will have a good defence teacher next year."

"Who?" we asked.

"I'm not telling!" he responded in a childish manner more befitting Sirius. "Just use The Marauder's work well, got it?"

We agreed and left the room. At the end-of-term feast, Gryffindor won the House Cup, despite Snape's continual attempts to sabotage the system.

As we were on the train back home, I told the others, "It's the Quidditch World Cup this year—hosted by England for the first time in thirty years—Dad might be able to get tickets!"

"Have your dad ask Sirius first," said Harry. "He probably wants to go, and right now, the Ministry will give him almost anything."

As we pulled into the station, we noticed Sirius standing with a cage in his hand. He walked over to Ron and handed him the cage, saying "It's my fault you no longer have a rat."

I gave Hermione a rather long hug and kiss, and then turned to Harry and did the same. Dan looked on in amusement at my antics, as we left the platform to go home for the Summer.

A/N:

The Helena joke comes from another fanfiction as well. As always, I've read so many that I forget which it is. I do believe it was a H/Hr fiction where they escape to Australia sometime after the Final Battle

I've been informed by a guest reviewer that the plural of Patronus and Animagus is Patroni and Animagi. I don't recall, however, seeing that term used in Canon, so I will continue to use Patronuses and Animaguses, not the pseudo-Latin preferred by the reviewer and roughly half of fanfiction writers. However, if you can find a Canon reference to the aforementioned plural terms (in an English-language edition of the books), please note that in a review or PM

I do believe that the next book will be _Avengers and Tournaments: The Bonds of Friendship Book IV_, which is a clue to who stars in it if you translate Avengers into other languages, for example, Greek. It will not be a crossover any more than the rest of these stories

I hope that no one gets mad at my use of first person. I don't use it a lot in my stories, but I wanted to do something different for a change

There may be hints of Femslash (i.e. G/Hr) along with H/Hr and H/G and H/Hr/G. I have also decided **NO HORCRUXES**, however, Voldemort will return sometime in the next couple years (not giving any hints)


End file.
